Green Real Estate Benefits Buyers and Sellers

More and more New Orleans homebuyers are looking for houses that offer“green features”, accounting for climate change and the city’s heat and humidity. Green homes can be not only more resilient to hurricanes and better for our environment, but also, as Green Coast Realty’s (GCR) Managing Broker Ariana Tipper points out, will save you money.

“Given a variety of economic pressures, more and more buyers are looking for homes with green features,“Tipper says. “These features can help a home buyer™s dollar go much further in the form of low maintenance costs, lower energy bills, and potentially higher re-sale value.”

Sometimes that monthly savings can amount to almost no cost at all. Take for instance the “Net Zero” camelback house at 6318 General Pershing Street. This stylized 21st Century designed home includes solar panels, state-of-the-art HVAC system, caramelized bamboo floors and draws nearly no outside electricity.

When the home was first put up for sale, however, the original listing failed to include many of the green features. The listing expired and GCR became the new agent. GCR realtor/broker Cheryl Timmins updated the house’s description, spotlighting the cost savings and eco-friendly qualities, and the home sold within a week.

Not all green homes, however, are new buildings Tipper says.

“As technology has improved, we see the costs of energy-efficient improvements going down significantly,” Tipper says. “Not all green homes look like they™ve come straight out of Dwell Magazine. The greenest home on the block can be the oldest home on the block; renovated using recycled building materials and integrating energy efficient materials and features.”

Green Coast Realty has assembled an impressive realty team, and requires that all GCR agents earn the Green Designation from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). While GCR can meet the needs of those seeking a more traditional brokerage, it’s critical in the hot and humid Southeast climate that realtors are knowledgeable in energy efficiency and sustainability.

“Green Coast Realty agents seek to make sure that buyers and sellers understand the value-proposition of sustainable homes,” Tipper adds. “New Orleans has been leading the field of green-buiding in the US for almost 300 years, and we™re only getting better.”